Two Paths, One Couple
by Starlover1990
Summary: A mission goes wrong, two different paths are formed but will they meet each other at the end?
1. Chapter 1

**Two Paths, One couple**

Time: After D&C

Spoilers: Divide and Conquer, Window of Opportunity.

Pairing: Sam/Jack.

Rating: T

Summary: A mission goes wrong, two different paths are formed but will they meet each other at the end?

Disclaimer: I own nothing, just my imagination for writing this fanfic.

A/N: I need to blame a few people before I start. **B **for giving me the idea, **Amanda **for making me write this and both of them with figuring out the storyline of the fanfic so it will make a bit sense. Then I also want to blame **Wendy **for the title. ;) In other words a big thank you to the three of you. You are helping me survive my classes at school(during which I am writing this fanfic)

Another thank you to **Amanda **for betaing this story.

Let's get started!

_Prologue_

Jack helped Sam out of the chair after their confession.

"Carter, " Jack started.

"Sir, none of this has to leave this room."

"We're okay with that?"

"Yes, Sir."

And they left it at that.

_Chapter 1_

Jack ran through the woods, the blasts of a staff weapon following him and his team. He turned around to shoot some rounds at a Jaffa that was closing in on them. In the corner of his eyes he saw Carter do the same to a few other Jaffa. They dropped like flies on the ground, but where one was shot two others came in their place. Jack turned around again while Carter covered his six and ran further. He saw that Daniel was already ahead of them so he could dial the 'gate.

Suddenly one of the staff blasts went just by his head and into the trunk of the tree he had just passed. Some wood fell on him and scratched his face and arm. He quickly looked for some cover and started shooting at the Jaffa again. He saw Teal'c give him a quick glare and Jack knew that he had to retreat. Teal'c would cover them. He fell hard against the tree and felt something break in his arm, but he knew he needed to ignore his pain. They needed to run from these Apophis loving Jaffa.

"Carter retreat to the 'gate now!" She quickly looked at him and accepted his order, but only by covering him. When had she gotten so stubborn? She had probably seen his cuts. His left arm was bleeding heavily and he saw that some part of the wooden shrapnel was still in his arm. That was definitely not a good thing. The adrenaline rushed through his body and kept him from feeling the pain. The pain would come later, first he needed to get his team home. He glared back at Carter but accepted her request silently.

Soon he saw the open area of the 'gate coming up before them. Daniel was already dialing it up and hopefully the 'gate would open soon. He ran next to Daniel and tried to cover him while he dialed up.

"Can you hurry it up a bit Daniel. I think we've overstayed our welcome." Daniel glared at him and evaded another blast.

"I'm almost there." Daniel grumbled.

Jack nodded and shot two Jaffa. He saw Teal'c coming to the edge of the tree-line and knew their time was up. They needed to hurry and leave right now. SG1 was outnumbered and he knew he was running out of ammunition. Carter would probably be having the same problem.

"Daniel. Now would be a good time."

"Almost there."

He pushed on the middle button of the DHD and the 'gate came to live with a loud kawoosh. After that their ID code was entered in the GDO and they could leave. Daniel looked at him for permission to go.

"Go, go, go." Jack shouted.

Daniel was the first to run through the event horizon and Jack thought Carter would go after that, but she gave him _that _look. The one that meant she was going to be stubborn and would wait till he left. He had to go first.

"Carter, go now!"

"Sir, you're hurt."

Damn it, this wasn't the time to ignore his orders, Jack thought. She only did this because she cared about him. It was almost like that God damn Apophis ship incident all over again, only this time it was his wooden shrapnel that stood between them instead of a force shield. He sighed and gave in. He knew that he wasn't the only one that would die for the person he loved, she would die for him as well. He had found that out with the help from the Zatarc detector.

She covered him and he sighed but started to run towards the 'gate. This wasn't the time to argue. Suddenly he heard a female cry. Jack stopped death in his tracks and looked around. He saw Carter was lying on the ground. He looked quickly at Teal'c and saw that he wanted to do the same as Jack, but Jack had to fix his mistake and grab Carter.

"Teal'c cover us."

Jack ran back, grabbed Carter while ignoring the enormous pain in his arm that seemed to be increasing with every movement he made. He was very much aware that he had broken his arm but tried to lift her with just his right arm. He ran towards the gate and stepped through to safety. On the other side he couldn't hold her anymore and immediately dropped her on the ramp of the 'gate. He looked at his arm and saw in a blur that he had lost a lot of blood. That was never a good thing.

Walter's voice was coming through the intercom: "Medical team to the gate-room. Medical team to the gate-room."

Janet rushed in and looked at Sam. The staff blast had grazed Sam's side, but was serious enough to knock her unconscious.

Jack worriedly looked at the pale face of his second in command. 'Come on Sam. You can make it.' he said silently. He mentally begged her to regain consciousness. To assure himself that she would be okay.

********

Jack was in a haze and didn't remember going from the 'gate-room to lying in a bed in the infirmary. A nurse was finishing his bandage and he assumed that they had already got everything out of his arm. An IV and blood bag were standing next to the bed. Apparently he had passed out in the 'gate-room.

Jack could only think of Carter at that moment. It was all his fault, having their stupid feelings get in the way again. Endangering both of their lives once more. As if they could really keep their feelings locked in that room. He internally rolled his eyes and snorted. The nurse immediately looked up to him and he gave her an innocent face. Nothing was wrong. He could fix this; he had to fix this.

After his arm was all bandaged up and in a sling he had to get some rest before getting out of this bed. Janet told him that Daniel and Teal'c were with her now and that the operation had gone well. She would recover. That wasn't certain for him though. Janet told him that they had looked at his arm and tried to put it straight again but he broke it on the end of the shoulder joint and twisted it in such a way that carrying Carter had done a whole heck of a lot more damage to it. Chances were that it would never heal 100% again. There was nothing that the doctors could do though, the muscle and bone had to heal themselves. They had only put it back in place again. At the moment a few pins in his arm kept everything together. He could feel them he thought grudgingly.

The problem was he couldn't worry about his arm when Carter had gotten injured because of him.

That was all his fault. He failed as her commanding officer.

SJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

"How is she?" He asked Daniel quietly when Janet finally let him go see her. For the moment, he was released from the infirmary.

"Okay. Janet said she was lucky, the staff blast only grazed her so there was no internal damage." Jack nodded. "She should regain consciousness soon. " He waited a second and added: "Janet said she's going to be okay." Jack looked up from Carter to Daniel and he understood. Daniel knew, just like Teal'c. They couldn't hide it from them, as much as they wanted to. It was a 'don't ask don't tell' situation.

"Thanks." Daniel said with a small smile. "I'm gonna grab a shower, you'll be okay here Jack?"

Jack didn't respond but soon he heard two pairs of footsteps leave the room. They were giving him some privacy.

Again he looked at her pale bruised form. 'Oh god Sam, how did this happen?'. Stupid Jaffa and their stupid fake god love. She didn't deserve this. She should have gone through the 'gate and not tried cover him. She normally always followed his orders. He sighed again and added to his thoughts, 'When it didn't had to do with them personally.' When did this all get so screwed up? But he already knew the answer to his silent question.

Apophis's ship. Force shield. Zatarc testers.

This had to change he decided. Damn that room.

"Carter." He waited. "Sam." She stirred. "Sam wake up." And suddenly two deep blue eyes were staring with confusion up at him.

"Sir." She said with a dry mouth and Jack handed her some water. "Thanks."

"You're gonna be okay."

She smiled slightly and handed him the cup back, their fingers grazed and held on longer than necessary. It was as if his body received an electrical spark. The blue and brown eyes locked again and suddenly the contact disappeared. Not here. Not now. Later.

He sat down and they sat together in silence. No words were needed . For the moment anyway.

SJSJSJSJSJSJ

A few days later Sam was released from the infirmary under strict orders from Janet. No work in her lab and she had to take it easy. Janet ordered her to go home and relax, which brought her to the place she was now. Lazily on her couch working on some equations that would help with the new upgrade of the naquada reactors. It would make them more efficient and generate a lot more power from the little Naquada that they had. She was just bending Janet's rules a bit; she wasn't working in her lab.

Suddenly she heard the stark ring of her door bell. Sam jumped up in surprise. She put the laptop down and automatically felt the pain at her side, the sudden movement had hurt her. When she opened the door she was surprised who was standing there and had to blink twice before acknowledging him.

"Sir." She piped, not knowing what to say. "What are you doing here?" He looked uncomfortable but she let him in.

"Just checking up on you."

"I'm fine sir. Following Janet's orders, as you should be doing." She said, pointing at his bandaged arm.

She heard from Daniel that it was worse than he had previously said. The muscles were torn apart and it would take months for him to regain some strength in his arm. There was even a chance he would never fully recover from this. She hated that because SG1 needed him. Hell, she needed him on SG1. He was the perfect leader and did his job right. He respected her for what she did and contributed on the team and didn't see her as the girl.

"Yes well…" He started but didn't finish. Sam closed the door behind him but couldn't help but notice that there wasn't another car on her driveway. That reminded her that he couldn't drive in the condition he was in.

"Sir, how did you get here?"

"Cab." He answered while looking around. "You know this place is way more girly than I expected."

"Sir."

She stared at him. Why was he here? And better than that, why was he here alone? They didn't had a team evening tonight and they knew how dangerous it was for the two of them to be alone at one of their houses. She felt the feelings that she had carefully hidden coming back up to the surface. She wanted to ignore them. This wasn't the time, and she had been the one that had left them in that room.

"Carter."

Sam sighed, knowing that he would never be the first to start talking even though he was the one that had come to her place.

"Beer? Coffee?" She waited a second before adding , "Diet coke?"

"You still drink that stuff?"

"I like it better than the regular one. It just tastes better."

"Ah, but no thanks a beer please."

Sam went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer and a diet coke. In the meanwhile she tried to suppress her nerves. Why was he here? She asked herself again. SG1 was on stand down so it couldn't have anything to do with that. Or did it have something to do with SG1? Sam didn't think so. She also knew that nothing was up with the Goa'uld, NID, or Russians so she literally had no idea what he was doing here. Why was it so important that he even came to her in a cab? He could have had Daniel drive him.

She handed him the beer and sat on her couch again. For a moment neither of them spoke, until Sam couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't here for small talk and she didn't feel up to do that.

"Sir, why are you here?" He sighed and looked everywhere except her. What was wrong with him? Sam didn't understand. What did she do to him? Did she mess something up? He looked so unhappy, like soon the whole world would explode and nothing would be left.

"Sir, please."

"Carter," he started. "we need to talk." He winced.

That was the moment Sam knew this couldn't be good. Nothing good ever came out of those four words.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I will try to update this fanfic at least once a week(more often if it works out with the beta), just so you know that it will be updated regularly!

Now on with the story…

Chapter 2

"Sorry," He added immediately. Damn he already screwed it up, even after the first sentence.

"Carter, what I mean is that we can't deny what happened." Sam shot him a look of confusion and he knew she didn't understand. "What happened on the planet, that can't happen again."

"What happened on the planet? "

"You didn't want to leave me."

"You were hurt sir. I was the closest one to you and could cover you. It was the logical option."

"You ignored my order."

"I did not." She waited for a moment contemplating something. "I was covering your six like I had been ordered to before that. We needed to get the whole team through the gate, you were hurt so you needed to go through first."

"Carter. We can't deny this."

"We can't deny what?"

Sam was playing with the can in her hand, while he put his bottle of beer on the table.

"Our feelings. That damn room." He ran a hand through his hair. "You know what I mean."

"We left it in the room because it was best, _sir._" She emphasized the sir. He hated that word. He really did.

"I don't think so Sam."

He saw in her blue depths that she was surprised that he had called her by her first name, but otherwise she didn't show any emotion. She tried to ignore the way the name on his lips made her feel for all she was worth.

"It's better like this. We still have a war to fight, this is not the time nor place."

"I almost lost you there. Damn it Carter, I don't want that. I can't do this."

"Why not? We promised that we would leave it in that room. We don't need it now, there are other things more important. God sir, the Goa'uld are knocking on our door ready to make slaves out of us and you want to ignore that and just go off with me. It's not right!"

He stared at her, not believing what she just said.

"You know it's not as simple as that." He softly said.

"Sir, we can't do this. Please." That word again, the word he just couldn't refuse when it came from her.

"Carter, I mean Sam, we can't do this anymore. Well actually I can't do this anymore. I care about you, a lot more than I'm supposed to. You know that. It's killing me seeing you hurt. I can't…" he stopped, not being able to finish what he said. Sam reached out to grab his hand, but didn't say a word. "I can't live without you. I won't. I can't leave it in that room anymore. Something has to be changed."

"Jack."

She stared into the chocolate colored eyes, that looked at her with such intensity that she cracked too. Jack saw it the moment that it happened. She stared at him with so much love. More than he could have even dreamed of. It made him think that all of his dreams were coming true.

Slowly but steady they got closer and closer, neither of them daring to say something or to stop the magic of the moment. He put his hand on her face and felt the soft skin under it. The skin on his hand tingled from joy and he loved the feeling. He was on fire. Desire flashed through him and he didn't know how it happened but suddenly he was kissing Sam. His tongue searched for an entry and soon found it. He twisted and turned it and by Sam's moans, he knew exactly what she liked. He softly bit her lip and his kisses trailed off down her neck. Their hands were everywhere. Jack felt one of Sam's hands finding its way under his T-shirt and caressing his back. She toyed with the shirt and quickly undid the buttons, one jumping off in the process and with a bit of Jack's help, took it off.

Another moan escaped from Sam. Jack's hands soon found their way under her T-shirt slowly moving up. Teasing her but at the same time giving her what she wanted. His mouth covered hers again and another moan escaped. He found the clasp of her bra with his good hand and was ready to take it of when a sudden movement from Sam threw him of.

Then, as suddenly as this had all started, it stopped. Sam jumped away from him and tried to get as far as him as possible. She straightened her clothes and stared at him.

"We can't…We can't do this."

"Carter?"

"This isn't right. Think of the risks this could bring to our career and to SG1. Oh god, Daniel and Teal'c. Sir, they need us and we need them. This thing, whatever it is, we can't throw our careers away for it. It's just irresponsible and irrational." He stared at her, was she really saying that now?

"It's not."

"Sir."

"I could retire."

"Like hell you would. We need you at the SGC." Sam blurted out.

"Not in SG1. My days are numbered. My knees are getting worse, my condition is getting worse. Damn Carter, look at my arm, it will take months to recover from this. Fraiser even said that she didn't knew if it would ever recover 100%. I've got 3 damn pins in it! Three." He motioned with his right hand.

"You're recover. You always do."

"And if I don't?"

"I don't accept that."

"Carter, what happened there in the field can't happen again. We have to change this because this can't happen again. We could have been off worse. One of us could have died. "

"That is a risk we take every time we step through the gate, feelings or no feelings. I also care about Daniel and Teal'c, but it doesn't change what I do. We can do this."

She looked at the floor. Jack sighed and knew she needed time. He looked for his discarded T-shirt and pulled it on again. Sam needed some more time and he didn't know what to say anymore, it was best for him to leave. Apparently Sam saw that he had trouble with putting it on again and helped him. Even this innocent touch sparked both of them, she left her hands linger on his body longer than necessary. Their hands collided again and they both looked up. The longing was still in both of their eyes.

The fire still so close to the surface, he wanted to kiss her, to love her properly, to not be scared. But this wasn't possible. He looked at her one more time and then at the door. He needed to go. Now.

"I can leave myself out. Please think about this."

"Sir."

"Just think about it okay? That's all I ask."

She sighed and the blue depths found his chocolate ones again. "Okay."

He gave a small smile away. "Okay."

Then he walked to the door and grabbed his phone. He needed to go to the base so he called Daniel to give him a ride. Even if Carter still had to think about it, he knew their working relationship had to change. This couldn't happen again. Even if he thought he could keep his feelings in check they would sneak in on one moment without him noticing and then play out. Usually on the wrong moments, like with the previous mission.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Big thank you's for **Twilight **helping me out with this!

Have fun reading!

Chapter 3

"I want to retire." Jack said after sitting for a while in Hammond's office.

"Why would you want to retire now?" he replied in surprise.

"Sir, it's the best option. You read the report on the Zanax stuff. Carter and I have gotten too close and it's been dangerous out in the field. "

"Jack, you're still needed on SG1. You're the best field officer I have and I want you as the leader of my front line team." Hammond's bald head had some throbbing veins that Jack was sure he had caused. The man was clearly frustrated.

"Sir, we can't go on like this and you know it." Jack leaned a bit forward in his chair.

"I know, but what about Major Carter, what are her feelings on the matter?"

"This is about me sir. I'm making this decision. I want to retire. "

"SG1 works very well like this; I hate to break it up. I don't want to do this; you're very valuable to the SGC. Most of our allies trust SG1, with you as leader, the most." Hammond said putting his hands on the desk before him.

"But sir, I can't deny this. You saw how our last mission ended."

"This wasn't the first time that SG1 came back with half of the team hurt," he countered while leaning forward.

He understood Jack's concern and it weighed heavily on his mind. Under normal circumstances they never would have worked together for this long but SG1 had formed a special bond which was something Hammond had not come across before. The unique abilities the people on this team had were perfect for a front line SG team.

"She ignored my order because of this…thing sir." Jack's shoulders sagged. Hammond looked a bit confused and so he continued: "You know…the feeling feelings thing." Jack raised his eyebrows hoping that the General would understand him now and seeing a look of comprehension appear on his face, it was clear he did.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes sir." Jack sat a bit more straight up.

"You were injured and she wasn't. She could have just wanted to save a fellow team member," Hammond stated.

"It happened because we have these unprofessional feelings for each other!" Jack almost jumped out of his chair and started to pace in the room. "General, you know just as much as I do that Carter normally doesn't disobey orders. We've become too close!"

Jack knew he would win this one because Hammond couldn't ignore the fraternization regulations. He had a responsibility and he would have to transfer Jack.

"I should transfer Carter out of your command. She has a lot of potential and I think she's even ready to lead her own science team."

"Sir, don't do that. Carter is a strong asset to SG1 and they still need her on the front lines. Transfer me. Carter is not only a great scientist but also a good combat officer. You know just as much as I do that's a rare combination." Jack sat down in the chair on the other side of Hammond's desk again.

The General wanted an option where both of them would be happy when a thought occurred to him. He went through some papers and laid one of them before Jack.

"There is another option," he said while pointing at the paper, "The SGC is starting a training program for new SG team members. You could become the Chief SG Training Instructor. I was going to assign Reynolds, but with you mentioning this…" He didn't finish but Jack understood.

Jack stared at the piece of paper. He hadn't thought of that. This way he could stay at the SGC and still do what he enjoyed. He could still go off-world when Hammond needed him. Carter would never know the full reason and thus it was the best option Jack had for both of them. He pondered it for a bit, but decided it was the only real option he had.

"That sounds good sir." Jack and Hammond both relaxed a bit in their chairs. He continued: "Just to be clear, this won't come up in any official records then?"

"You came to me before anything actually happened between the two of you, so technically there's nothing to report." Hammond assured him.

"Thank you sir."

Jack stood up, knowing that the conversation was almost over. He knew Carter could go far with her military career. Soon she would become a Lieutenant Colonel and maybe even the leader of SG-1. Jack had no doubts whatsoever. The only thing that stood in her way was him and he was clearing the path for her.

"But if I ever find a good reason to put you back on SG1, I will. So far nothing wrong has happened yet and I do understand your concerns but I would prefer you as the leader of SG1 than this new assignment. As I said before, you're one of the best field officers I have."

"But sir…" He bowed forward and put his hands on Hammond's desk.

"Colonel!" Hammond stood up and leaned forward a bit.

"Yes sir." Jack sighed and he backed off again.

"I hope you're making the right decision son." Hammond added softly. Jack nodded, he knew he was.

SJSJSJSJSJSJ

A few days later when the transfer was approved Jack decided it was time to tell Carter.

He walked into the lab and saw her working on one weird doohickey. It was a metal box that now had all kinds of different colored wires coming out of it. They had recovered it from P3X… something or other last week. Carter had determined that it was some type of energy device after working on it for three days straight.

"Carter." No reaction. "Major." He said forcefully.

She stopped and looked up.

"Oh hi sir, sorry I didn't notice you came in. This device is so interesting. Somehow it transforms the naquadah for power, but it works very differently than our naquadah reactors. It's way more efficient and…"

"Ah Carter…it all has to do with magnets right?" Jack said while stepping more into the room.

She stared at him for a while, then blinked and nodded.

"Sir?" she asked when he remained standing on the other side of the desk without saying or doing anything. Normally when he came in she knew why, but he was behaving differently this time.

"Do you need anything?"

"No not really..." he started to say.

She smiled. "So that begs the question, why did you come here?"

"Yes well…" Jack started again.

"Sir, is there something you would like to discuss?" she said while raising her eyebrows.

Jack knew eventually they would have to talk about what happened at his house. So far they had ignored it. Sam knew that Jack was temporarily removed from SG1, but Janet hadn't told her when the Colonel would be back in the field. Sam was sure he would be back soon; he was Jack O'Neill, he came out of every fight without a problem.

Jack found a small metal ball on Sam's desk to fiddle with and Sam continued to wait for a response from him. "So, first mission back today?" Jack said in the end.

"Yes, Colonel Reynolds is going to accompany us."

"He's the right replacement for me."

"Sir?"

"I talked with Hammond and…" he stopped again, searching for the right words to say. Sam just waited. "I've been reassigned as the Chief SG Training Instructor. Reynolds will be your permanent commander." He winced as he spoke.

Sam understood the Colonel, but she was confused.

"Sir, you can't be serious. You've been reassigned from SG1?"

"Yes."

Sam stared at him for a minute, trying to figure out why the Colonel would be reassigned from SG1. She couldn't think of a good reason why Hammond would do this to him.

"Did you ask for reassignment?" She inquired suspiciously.

"I did."

"You can't do that." She shouted.

"And why not M_ajor_?" he growled back.

"Because we still need you at the front lines. The war isn't over yet and SG1 needs you, Colonel Jack O'Neill, as their leader"

Her heart was beating fast as she tried to figure out why Jack needed to leave SG1. Sam had grown accustomed to his command. There was order in the chaos for her but with Jack leaving it felt like her heart was shattering. Not only was she going to miss her commander, but also her friend, in the field. She felt safe with him and that was a rare. They both trusted each other with their lives and would die for each other.

Sam wanted to shout at him, tell him not to do it, that she needed him.

She looked at her device and then at Jack not knowing what to do or say. In her hand she still had a pencil with which she had been writing notes. With force she threw it on the table; surprising Jack who out of instinct took a step back.

"Look how long it took me to gain your respect sir. From what I remember when I met Reynolds at Area 51 all he saw was merely a scientist and he completely ignored my status as a combat officer." She glared at Colonel O'Neill.

He apparently hadn't expected her sudden outburst and she saw him trying to stay calm.

"I know Reynolds too Carter and he will treat you the same as I do," he replied without showing any emotion

"You really believe that?" She challenged.

"Yes, I do."

She just stared at him. Was this all her fault? Had she caused this? She didn't like to doubt herself, but she couldn't stop the questions from flooding her mind.

Sam bit on her lip. "But he isn't you." She stopped, thinking of what happened on their last mission; "Sir, is this…is this because of us?"

Jack sighed and Sam already knew his answer. He looked into her eyes and she could read a 'yes' in their dark brown depths.

"No sir. Please," she pleaded softly, her voice breaking slightly.

"Decision is made." Jack stood up and put the small round metal ball he was playing with back down on the table.

"You can go back to Hammond and request to undo this transfer."

"No, Carter I can't. It won't change what I feel…what we feel. What happened in the field four weeks ago, that can never happen again. It's too dangerous, this is the best way."

"I won't accept it." Sam responded softly without even adding a "sir" in the mix.

"I'm out of your chain of command. You will report to Reynolds from now on." He snapped harshly.

"You can't do this sir!" Sam tried.

"I can and I did." He glared at her and left the room.

She quickly stood up afterwards and left her lab too. She needed to walk around and escape the scene that had just played out.

This was all her fault; she ruined SG1 by not wanting to leave him behind. She had needed to know that he would be safe. She shouldn't have ignored his order. When did she become this obstinate? In the end she ended up going to the bathroom and closing herself in a stall.

Soon after she went in she heard a few other people coming in as well.

"Did you hear about Colonel O'Neill?" Sam heard someone say; she sounded like Sergeant Fisher. This sounded interesting and Sam didn't dare to move.

"No, what happened?" someone asked with a surprise. Sam thought this voice came from Sergeant East.

"The Colonel has been reassigned."

"No way! Do you know why?"

"Well, I think it has to do with Major Carter. You know about her and Colonel O'Neill right?" There was a small pause, in which Sam imagined East nodding at Fisher. "I mean I don't know it for sure and all, but I've seen how they look at each other. Hammond must have seen it too and reprimanded O'Neill."

"I wonder if he required her to sleep with him to get her a permanent position on SG1? I wonder if he would put me on an SG team if I offered him a blow job?" Fisher laughed at that comment.

Sam didn't want to hear more. She was astonished by what she just heard. The water from the sink ran and soon the two gossiping Sergeants left.

Sam knew she had fallen for Jack O'Neill, but she hadn't wanted to. She wasn't the kind of person who fell for her commanding officer. Sam stood up and walked quickly back to the safety of her lab .

Once there she stared at her newest gadget, the energy generator, but she wasn't thinking about how it worked. The conversation of the two Sergeants was playing over and over in her head. When had it happened that people started to think like this about her? Hadn't she shown time after time that she deserved her position here in the SGC? Some people clearly already thought she was sleeping with him and the Colonel leaving SG1 would only further those rumors.

Sam tried to start working again on her metal box. She also tried to ignore the thoughts that within two hours she would start her first mission on SG1 with Colonel Reynolds and that for now there was no hope of Jack returning with them. Sam sighed once again.

Unfortunately, as hard as Sam tried she just couldn't ignore what she had heard. She felt indignant, but she felt helpless too. She thought of Colonel Reynolds; her new CO. She was nervous that he would be her new commander. From her experience Colonel Reynolds was the complete opposite of Colonel O'Neill. He wouldn't be as gentle to civilians as the Colonel and wouldn't let Daniel challenge him. She did hope that Reynolds wouldn't still see her as an inept scientist like he had when she visited Area 51. There Colonel O'Neill had corrected Reynolds by surreptitiously mentioning that she was a Major. After that Reynolds had backed off but she hadn't spoken to him since.

Sam cut another cable in frustration while her mind chose this moment to replay the moment of the Colonel telling her that Reynolds was her permanent CO from now on. He even implied that he trusted Reynolds. That said something about the man; Colonel O'Neill didn't trust people that easily.

Could this mean that she was actually the problem here? Was she the weak link and not the Colonel? What should she do now? There was apparently only one option for her; she needed to start thinking straight again and that meant she had to distance herself from Jack O'Neill.

Sam watched the clock again; one hour before her mission with Colonel Reynolds. It also meant one hour till she would prove herself again. She was determined that she would show everyone that she got her position on SG1 because she deserved it.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to **Twilight **even though she had to knock some sense into me while betaing the chapter! *rubs bruises*

_Chapter 4_

Exiting the Stargate it looked like they had just arrived at a forest in Vancouver instead of another planet thousands of light-years away. Reynolds was already barking orders at them. Daniel wanted to go as quickly as possible to the ruins that they had seen on the UAV, but Reynolds insisted on keeping the team together.

"Come on Andrew, you know it's safe; the UAV didn't show any signs of life. Sam and I can go to the ruins while you and Teal'c set up camp," he proposed anxiously while standing in the mud that seemed to cover everything.

"No Doctor Jackson, we're first going to set up the camp. That is our main priority at the moment or do you want to sleep in the mud?" Sam heard Daniel sigh, almost as if he were defeated, but he wouldn't be Daniel if he didn't at least try one more time.

"Oh come on, you don't need four people for that." Daniel actually grinned with that comment. That was a bold move, Sam thought.

"Actually I do. Plus the faster we set up camp the faster you can go to the ruins."

Sam watched as Daniel paced around; he didn't start work on the camp, instead it seemed like he was still trying to figure out a way to go to the ruins. Normally Jack would have let him go to the ruins while he stayed behind to set up camp with Teal'c. The doctor looked up towards Reynolds and his shoulders sagged. Why the Colonel wouldn't let him go to the ruins was beyond her. Sam glanced at the Colonel for a second, but decided to let it go.

"Major Carter, you and Doctor Jackson will set up the tents for the night," Reynolds ordered.

"Yes sir," Sam acknowledged. Reynolds nodded and walked away together with Teal'c to secure the perimeter. Reynolds was very thorough with setting up the camp Sam noticed. She couldn't help to but compare him with Colonel O'Neill who was normally a bit more laid back. Sam looked down at the bag with the tent in it and tried to forget about the Colonels for a moment. She could still set up a tent without thinking about them right?

Daniel, who was still frustrated at not being allowed to go to the ruins, responded in annoyance when Sam started to work, "Sam, are you serious? You want to go to the ruins as bad as I do!"

"Please, just help me set up the tents." Sam sighed; she didn't want to get into a discussion with him about this.

He stared at her for a bit thinking about what to do. He then looked at Reynolds who was now sorting the supplies, and then back at Sam.

"Sam come on, you know this all isn't necessary?"

"Yes, I know, but we just have to deal with it."

She refused to look him straight in the eye as she continued working. She wasn't going to show Daniel how much she missed Jack already. It was quiet for a second until she heard Daniel suggest: "Come on, let's set up the tents. Reynolds is right. The quicker we're done with this the quicker we can go check those ruins out."

They worked silently putting the tents together. A few hours later everyone was finished and they could finally go to the ruins.

"Carter, you're staying here. We'll keep in contact every 30 minutes." Sam was caught off guard by his order and jumped up.

"But sir, I need to go to the ruins too. You know there could be some energy readings that the UAV didn't pick up and..."

"_Majo_r Carter, I just gave you a direct order." Sam nodded and sat down again. She had to listen, she could do this.

She looked around and locked eyes with Daniel. It was evident he was struggling with this and was almost ready to challenge Reynolds but she shook her head. She was a soldier and a scientist; she would show them that she didn't need Jack O'Neill and could still work just as well with any other commander.

"Yes sir," Sam relented.

"Thank you Major. We'll be back before the sun goes down." Sam nodded and watched the three men leave. She looked around the camp and grabbed her laptop that she had brought with her She could work on some other projects while the guys were gone.

SJSJSJSJSJ

As the days continued Sam found herself becoming disgruntled. For the last two days the three men would go to the ruins and would remain there from the moment the sun went up until the sun went down. Daniel had explained her about finding Ancient writings at the temple and Teal'c helping him translate.

Sam had asked Colonel Reynolds to let her go to the ruins again after a two days but he turned her down. So that left her here at the camp. Again. She looked around and decided to make some coffee. She made a fire and her mind wandered back to the Colonel. Sam was annoyed as she stoked the fire harshly. Why was he ignoring her? She poked the fire again. Why the hell wasn't he letting her do her damn job? Jab. She had years of experience. More ashes flew into the air.

She was the scientist in the group and Daniel was telling her something about a technical manual. That would be a good reason for her to go right? Sam stood up again and went to look for a cup to put her coffee in.

Out of nowhere Reynolds was suddenly standing in front of her. "Major pack up your gear. You're going to the ruins today."

Sam tried to figure him out for a second and then nodded. She wanted to question him as to why she was allowed to go now and not yesterday. But before Sam could even open her mouth he had left again. The Major watched Reynolds, who was now in a discussion with Teal'c. Why didn't he have a problem with Reynolds? Sam looked at her empty rucksack and started to gather the materials she thought she would need for the ruins.

The Colonel waited until Sam and Daniel had started and followed them.

"The ruins are two klicks away from here. So we need to hurry up a bit, we don't have a lot of time before it's dark," he said while looking towards Sam.

"Yes sir." She bit her lip and glanced at Daniel who was walking next to her. He didn't say anything.

In the end it was Reynolds who broke the silence; "So Major what do you think of this planet so far?" Was he asking her _that_? She hadn't seen anything outside of the camp.

"It's …muddy sir," she respectfully replied.

"Yes, I've noticed that. Gets stuck everywhere too." He smiled.

"Haven't had too much problems with that sir." Small talk; she could do that.

"Oh, then it's probably because we went to the ruins. You know, not as much vegetation there thus more mud." Sam nodded and it felt like he had just given her a low blow. Forcing a smile on her face she just kept walking.

SJSJSJSJSJSJS

When they arrived Daniel led Sam to the main building while Reynolds stayed outside. It was magnificent and modeled Ancient Mayan architecture. Once inside she saw the Ancient writing and he explained everything he had translated so far.

According to his translation, there used to be a device but it wasn't there anymore. The walls, which were covered with Ancient text, were an instruction manual as far as he could figure out.

In the middle of the room there was a circle on the ground. In the middle of the circle was a small pillar. Sam walked around and looked at the brown round pillar made out of the same stone as the building. It came to her hips and had the diameter of a basketball.

"The manual says that the device should be placed in it." He walked closer and pointed to the middle of the pillar where there was a rectangular hole. Sam nodded and felt around the corners. She wanted to figure out how the device could be connected with the pillar.

"So what would this device do?" she asked while she was still looking at the pillar.

Daniel moved towards another part in the temple and motioned Sam to come over. She glanced one more time at the pillar and then walked towards him. The doctor read the text there.

"Well according to these texts the device would be able to 'kill the demons' within. I think they are talking about the Goa'uld," he said with glee and his eyes started to twinkle.

"A device to kill the Goa'uld, but what about the host? We've come across those before; you know the ones from the Tok'ra and the Asgard," she thought out loud looking at Daniel skeptically.

"I know, but this one is different. In here it says 'The owner will get the power back in the previous state. Nothing will be lost'. This made me think it was the same as the other ones but look, here it the text talks about 'all who have been enslaved will be free again.' This made me think about the Jaffa." He looked at Sam, waiting for her to connect the dots.

"Oh my god, this is huge!" She smiled. "We need to find this device; do you have any idea where it is?"

"Well, I have an idea. The manual says that you have to be careful with the power source of the device and that it can be dangerous if not used properly. I thought that it could mean that the Ancients just hid the device together with its power source in a secret compartment."

"You want me to scan this temple?" Sam said already putting her rucksack down.

"No, let's go to the other temple because I think the power source might be in there."

Daniel was quiet for a second and looked around one more time. Sam picked her rucksack up again and they started to walk out of the temple together.

"The Ancients didn't leave a description of what the device looked like. Looking at the walls and the fact that these are the only two temples left standing, I think there was a battle here and that it was moved for safe keeping to the other temple." Sam sighed, they were so close.

"But you haven't seen anything there?" Sam tried.

"No." He looked around again in amazement. For Daniel this was like winning the jackpot; he loved to translate.

"So, we're flying blind here and you're just guessing?"

"Well…" he started wanting to explain what he meant, but he looked guiltily at Sam and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, but it's definitely worth a try. I mean the readings in the big temple say that there should be something in the smaller temple."

"Okay, we can check it out." In the meantime they had walked towards the smaller temple, which was very similar to the other in its set up. The Colonel didn't say a word as they walked by. He looked up at the two and went on polishing his gun. Once inside Sam put her rucksack down and got her power reader out.

"Where do you want me to scan?" she questioned.

Daniel blushed a bit and adjusted his glasses. "Everywhere." The Major's eyes widened.

"You have no idea where it is in here?"

"No. Teal'c and I looked for some writings that would help us, but we didn't find anything Then again I was mostly occupied with translating the text in the other temple."

"Okay,." she answered and started up the device. Sam searched around for 15 minutes until the meter noted a small spike.

"Daniel!" Sam immediately shouted.

"Did you find it?" He rushed towards her.

"I think so."

Sam touched the wall but nothing happened. Was there supposed to be some sort of switch in here? How did they active it? Sam looked around and saw nothing except for the circle she was standing in. If that activated the device it didn't work.

"Shouldn't this circle do something?" Sam inquired. Daniel looked at the circle and brushed some sand from it so it was more visible.

"You remember that Ancient room a couple of years ago?" he said as he looked up, but she looked confused. "You know the one where Jack's head got sucked in." She gave a nod of understanding.

"I think that this circle works same as that one. Last time it also didn't work for us, but only for Jack."

"Perhaps."

"We need Jack." He announced. Sam's eyes widened slightly and she gave a slight shrug, pretending to be indifferent to his suggestion.

"Sam?" Daniel prodded. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing; just find that switch okay?" Sam tried to change the subject.

"Didn't Jack talk to you about leaving SG1?" He definitely didn't beat around the bush.

Sam almost snorted. He did and the fun part of it all, she was the reason he had to leave. She averted her gaze, trying to escape Daniel's questioning eyes.

"He told me." Sam answered uncomfortably.

"But you want him back on the team too right?" He was quiet for a second and then quickly added; "I mean it's not that I don't like Reynolds, you know that right?"

Sam felt Daniel still watching her every move. He suddenly announced: "He told you."

"Sort of; you know the Colonel he doesn't say a lot." She wasn't willing to tell Daniel; not yet. Not when she wanted to prove herself again.

He waited on Sam to say more but she remained silent. Finally she relented. "He did love being on SG1 Daniel, but well…" she searched for the right words, "...sometimes things happen and you can't change them."

"That sounds…weird, but still, maybe if we're persistent enough he'll come back."

"I can't see that happening. The Colonel requested the transfer." Sam bit her lip.

"We could still try it, certainly now that we think Jack is the only one who can switch the device on. Once Hammond sees how well the old SG1 works together, he'll want to transfer Jack back," Daniel reasoned.

"You think you need him but it could be that it doesn't work for him either. He won't come back on the team. He has a new assignment now," Sam said stubbornly.

Daniel glanced at Sam one more time and knew it was no use. She was already looking more carefully at the place where she had found the energy spike.

Suddenly she saw a faint reading.

"Daniel, what does this writing here say?" Sam asked pointing at some small writing around the place where she had detected the spike. Daniel mumbled for a bit as he translated, and then looked back at Sam.

"This isn't our device or the power source," he started somberly, "but I do think this is our map towards finding them."

"Map? As in _the _map? " Sam stared at the words.

Daniel nodded: "It says it will lead the 'chosen ones to his Holy Grail and find the light he so desperately seeks,' the chosen one must be Jack, he could get the map for us."

"We need to report this." As Sam said the words Colonel Reynolds walked into the ruins.

"Report what?" he asked curiously.

"We need Jack, I mean Colonel O'Neill," Daniel quickly answered.

"Why? You know he won't be able to come here." Reynolds answered and then gave Sam a quick look. She was shocked; did he know?

"He has to come," Daniel's voice interrupted Sam's thoughts. "The device won't work without him."

"Okay…and why doesn't the device work without Colonel O'Neill?"

"Well, you've read the older mission reports of SG1 right?" The Colonel nodded.

"You remember the mission report in which the Colonel loses his mind because of an apparent overload of Ancient information and goes to the Asgard?"

"Yes, I think I remember that one. Wasn't it that he got his head sucked into some Ancient device?" Reynolds confirmed.

"That's the one. Anyway, Sam and I have the idea that this map or device works the same as that one."

"How so?" He looked confused again and moved a bit closer towards the two.

"Well, last time Teal'c, Sam and I later found out that while we all had stood in the circle nothing happened until Jack went in."

Reynolds nodded and stepped nearer. "So you think the Colonel has something special so that only he can activate this?"

"Yes," Daniel answered and watched as the Colonel went to the wall to inspect the area himself.

"Can I touch the wall?" he asked.

"I don't see why not," Sam responded.

He felt the wall and Sam saw the colonel immediately pull back again like he had burned his hand.

"It's so warm. Is that the source of the energy Major?" He waved around with his hand a bit in the hope that it would cool down again.

"Erm...I think so" Sam looked confused; to her it felt the same as the rest of the wall. She looked at Daniel in question to see if he felt the same, but Daniel shook his head.

Suddenly without any warning a 3-D holographic map of space appeared. It covered the entire span room. Sam walked towards a planet displayed close to her but when she went to touch it; her hand went right through it. She had never seen an image quite so vibrant. It looked real to her, as though she weren't seeing a holographic image but the real planets.

"Wow," Daniel gasped.

"Colonel. You are… you are the one," Sam stuttered in disbelief.

She turned her head back towards the Colonel. He didn't move at all, as though in a trance at the moment. A few seconds later he turned he shook his head and turned towards Sam. "Major?"

"Don't worry; everything is going to be okay. Just…keep standing here," Sam answered.

Sam saw the uncertainty in his eyes and realized this was all new to him.

"Okay Major and after that? " She winced and glanced at Daniel for a second who shrugged.

"I don't know."

TBC..


End file.
